Author: emsharples

So, first of all I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in so long! I’ve been plagued with the flu recently, and only just started to start to feel better. However, I’m back fighting fit and with a favourites post! We’re getting into my favourite time of year now and I’m so excited. I’ve just got back from boots and seen all the christmas gift sets and it’s making me so excited! Anyway, lets jump into it…

Garnier Ultimate Blends hair oil – This stuff is amazing, I’ve never tried anything like it! I take one pump and rub it between my hands and then apply to the ends of wet hair before blow drying it. This leaves my hair, the softest it has ever felt and feeling like I’ve just left the hairdressers. You know that feel your hair has when you leave the hairdressers, and then you wash it and it never feels like that again? Well this does it. I don’t really try many hair products out if I’m honest, just a hair mask and heat protectant and I’m so happy I got my paws on this.

Zoeva 102 Silk Finish Brush – I have grown a new love for Zoeva brushes recently, they’re really well made and the hairs are amazing. I purchased this just a week ago and it’s already a must have for me. I use this to apply my foundation with, it blends beautifully and leaves no harsh lines with my foundation. I can’t think of a bad word to say about this brush, it’s just amazing. Get it.

Maybelline colour Elixir in Blush Essence – I really like the formula of this lipgloss, it’s not sticky unlike the revlon moisture stain lip glosses. It goes perfectly on top of so many of my MAC lipsticks, and I love the colour of it. I think the packaging of this product is what drew me in, apart from the fact that I had heard so many reviews about it. The packaging is lovely, I think it looks really sleek! I now have 3 of these and intend on getting the whole collection some time soon!

MAC Lipstick in Snob – I love this colour! This is one of the lipsticks that the colour elixir goes perfectly with! I normally go for nudes and light pink lipsticks but this is a bit more bolder and I really like how it looks with a plain face of make up, just to add a bit more colour. I think it’s nice for pale girls like me, and doesn’t make my skin look as pale as it is!

L’oreal True Match Foundation – Well, L’oreal, you have made me fall in love. The only word I can think of to describe this foundation is just… wow. It sits on the face like a fresh, new layer of skin. It doesn’t leave any lines and the colour variety is incredible! It’s normally so hard for me to find a foundation that actually matches my skin colour perfectly but this is the one that I’m going to constantly go back to I think. I’ll still be trying new foundations but I think I have found my all time new favourite. The price is really affordable aswell!

Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Pallette – Can we just take a second to admire how beautiful the colours in this palette are? I’ve recently started a new love with eyeshadows so I’m not that great at applying them yet. But I think all the shades in this palette compliment each other beautifully and I particularly like the combination of In the Buff as the highlight, Fluffy handcuffs all over the lid and then Voulez-Vouz in the crease. All the shadows are super pigmented, however I do find that with too faced shadows there can be quite a bit of fall out so be careful with the darker shades!

I’ll be back to writing more regular posts now I’m back at university and fighting fit! Let me know if you’ve tried any of the products and what you think of them! What are your september favourites? Anything I should try out?

Liz Earle has become revolutionary in the beauty world. I’ve been using her products for around 3 years now, and I can’t imagine the day that I will stop using them. All of them are all natural ingredients, that are safe and not tested on animals.

Hot cloth cleanse and polish
Before using this I hasp never really applied a cleanser straight onto dry face or a face of make up before nor had I used a cleanser in combination with a muslin cloth before. But I have to say that this works lovely, first of all it smells Devine – natural. Which I know some people won’t like. It doesn’t lather, it just dissolves the make up on your face and cleanses really well. The packaging on this product is so simple and makes my night time routine so much easier. You just pump out as much product as you need instead of squeezing every last part out of a tube (which can also get very messy and irritating). The results from using to cleanser really are amazing, I have dry/combination skin and it’s not easy to keep it in the best of conditions because of my job (chippy girl problems) but I really so believe that this helps so much with maintaining my skin in a reasonable state.

Instant skin boost tonic
I know not everybody uses toner but I feel like its a must in my routine, I just take it on a cotton pad and wipe all over my face. I really love this toner, it ensures all the cleanser and make up is removed properly before applying moisturiser. It leaves my skin feeling so clean and refreshed and radiant. I have a tiny bit of this left and I’m clinging on to it so much, I don’t want to use it up!

Skin repair moisturiser
I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a review on this product. But it is lovely, so gentle and light on the face. Probably one of the best moisturisers I’ve used. There’s not a bad thing I can say about it. It evens out skin, and gives your skin the thirst quench it craves.

Have any of you tried any liz Earle products? Which ones do you love? Comment and let me know!

Can I ever go into boots and not buy anything? Nope. So here is a haul for you guys! I’ve wanted to try a few products out now and payday just happened so I went and got a bit spendy!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water – £5.00
I’ve heard a few people rave about this product including velvetghost so I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve never tried a cleansing water before, so I gave it a try last night. It’s nice, I used it after I had cleansed my face and it was feeling a bit tight. It worked nicely with putting the elasticity back into my skin. There’s no fragrance or alcohol so anybody can use this and not have an issue with sensitive skin.

Collection work the colour nude eye palette – £3.99
To say how cheap this palette is I really can’t complain. They are pigmented shadows and go on the lid nicely, the colours are also really beautiful. If you are just starting a beauty collection and starting to mess around with eye shadows a bit I would say this is a good buy instead of splurging on one of the expensive palettes.

Bourjois healthy mix foundation – £9.99
I have to start off with how amazing this foundation smells, it smells like sun cream and I absolutely love the smell. I heard Fleur De Force talk about this in a monthly favourites, and I was looking for a new dewy foundation so I picked this up. I tried this on yesterday and at first I wasn’t overly impressed, but on pictures it seems to look okay. I’m going to try it again a couple of times as my skin isn’t in the best of conditions at the moment is that could be due to why I don’t like it that much.

Maybelline colour tattoo in Permanent tope and On and On bronze – £4.99
I’m really impressed with this product. I think they sit on the lid beautifully, and is just the right consistency. I’ve not heard one person not like these eye shadows, I love the colour range and I will definitely be getting another few.

Maybelline colour elixir in blush essence and raspberry rhapsody – £6.99
Maybelline had a 3 for 2 offer on all of their products so I picked up 2 of their new colour elixirs. I really like them already, they’re not sticky, they’re just a nice consistency. I think there’s about 10 different shades, and I will definitely be getting them all. Even if I don’t wear them that often the collector inside me must have them all! They are beautiful colours, some bright and some nude. I can’t wait to get more!

Revlon colour stay moisture stain in London Posh and Barcelona Nights – £7.99
Unfortunately I’m really disappointed with the formula of this product. They claim to not be sticky but it’s exactly the opposite, I feel like my lips are really gloopy when I apply this and I hate it. I wanted to love this product but I had heard mixed reviews. The range of colours is good, but I would definitely opt for the Maybelline colour elixir over this. London posh is a beautiful nude and the typical ‘your lips but better’ whereas Barcelona nights is a bright pink.

Elf tone correcting concealer – £1.95
I find it quite hard to find a liquid highlighter that works well for me, as I’m just so pale. However, I did get this product as a concealer and got it in the lightest shade. But when I applied it had a highlighting effect that I really liked, so I’ve decided to now use it for highlighting. But it does also correct the pigmentation in my skin also. Overall, a good product but not sure if I would buy it again.

Elf blush in Candid Coral and Fuchsia Fusion – £3.95
I really like elf blushes I think they gather on brushes really nicely and look lovely on the apples of the cheeks. Candid coral is really nice for me as I’m pale, it’s not as bright and in your face as some blushes are, it’s a nice nude. However, fuchsia fusion isn’t really for me. It looked a lot paler on the internet and when it came its just too bright for me and I have to say I probably won’t ever use it. Elf blushes in generally are great and I will definitely be getting more in different shades!

Rimmel nail varnish in round and round in circles – £2.99
Another product I’m not happy with, I love the colour of it, it’s a gorgeous pastel yellow. However, it applies horrendously! I normally really like Rimmel nail varnishes but it kept separating on my nail and looked awful!

MAC matte lipstick in Pink Plaid – £15.50
Now, for my most exciting buy of the day. MAC lipsticks are my favourite lipsticks to buy, I don’t think you can beat them too be honest they are such a cult product in the beauty world and so many beauty bloggers love them. I picked up this beauty, never really heard anybody talk about this colour but it’s beautiful and I think it’s very under-rated. However, I don’t normally go for matte lipsticks so I add the Maybelline colour elixir in blush essence on top and it looks stunning!

Let me know if anybody has tried these products and their thoughts! Any recommendations that you’ve recently bought?

I’ve tried a few high end products out now, so I thought that I would finally splurge and get myself this foundation. I’ve been wanting to try it out for ages and most of the beauty youtubers I watch always recommend it such as Fleur De Force. However, it has to be said it isn’t one of my favourites.

This product is raved about so much in the beauty world, but I just don’t understand the hype. When you first apply it, don’t get me wrong it looks beautiful and gives a flawless finish which I like. However, on me this foundation just does not last and within under an hour leaves the skin looking and feeling greasy. Which is not what I expected from a product which retails at £32.00 for 30 ml.

It does look beautiful for short trips, but if you’re after a long wear foundation then this isn’t the one for you. Also, it does have a fragrance and a high alcohol content so for those with sensitive skin I wouldn’t bother wasting your money, I’ve heard of so many people have break outs due to wearing this foundation and it really isn’t worth it. However, not many people think that the range of shades is great. But I’m really really pale and finding the perfect match for me in foundation can be exhausting – but the first shade I picked up matched great. So in that sense, I can’t complain. The packaging of the product is really handy aswell, it’s a plastic container instead of the typical glass one which makes travelling a lot more easier.

Overall, I wouldn’t spend the money on this product again. It’s nice to have in your collection but I feel you can get better foundations from the drugstore, I feel like I get exactly the same finish from Max Factor Face Finity which is only £11.00 so don’t see the need to waste money. Also, if you’re thinking of trying this product give it a good shake before use as it does dispense a greasy water if it’s not shaken up properly!

Let me know if any of you have tried this foundation and what you think of it? I’d love to hear if I’m the only who thinks this!

There’s a constant battle between make up brushes: synthetic? Duo Fibre? Big and fluffy? or Small and dainty? For me, there’s only really one brand that does it for me. Real Techniques – They have a range of so many different brushes, and I haven’t come across one of their brushes that I have yet to really dislike. They are also really affordable for the quality of the brushes, I know finding the perfect inexpensive brush is really hard.

The real techniques stippling brush £11.99/The real techniques buffing brush (From the core collection) £21.99 – I like to change the brush which I apply my foundation on with. It all depends on how well the foundation sits on your face, and the type of brush. I used to use the buffing brush for pretty much all of my foundation but then I dug my stippling brush out from the back of my draw and started to use this again. I tend to use the buffing brush for heavier foundations, however, I do switch it up between the two regularly. They both leave no lines and blend in foundation beautifully. I also tend to use the Stippling brush for creme blush aswell, just apply it with my fingers and blend it in with the brush and it looks flawless.

The real techniques power brush £12.99 – This brush is my favourite; It’s massive and fluffy and collects just the right amount of product on it without making your face look like there’s too much powder. I couldn’t imagine using any other powder brush, I wouldn’t really need to because this does the job perfectly.

The real techniques blush brush £9.99 – This brush is perfect for applying powder blush with, it glides of the apples of the cheeks beautifully. However, I do not just use this for applying blusher. The tapered shape of the brush makes this brush a treat for contouring. I can never really seem to find the right balance for the size of a contour brush, it’s either too big, too small, not the right shape or doesn’t quite fit in the hallows of my cheeks. But this beauty is just right, try it out and let me know what you think. Obviously, everyone is different and has different face shapes.

Elf small stipple brush £3.95 – I use this brush to blend in my concealer, I apply my concealer with the doffer applicator if it has one or just with my fingers if its a pot. I then blend it in with this brush, it’s the perfect size for getting into small spaces like around your nose or the inner corner of your eyes. It blends so well and doesn’t make it look like you are actually wearing any concealer.

Elf blending brush £1.95 – I really like using this brush to blend out my crease eye shadow. It smoothes out everything, I think having a couple of these is a great idea – one for actually blending out products (a clean one) and then one for applying the crease colour. It’s a nice size too to just fit on the eyelid too.

Elf brow wand £1.95 – A brow wand is a staple in any beauty collection for me, brush your brows through before drawing them on and they will go on easier, also a good trick for if you have applied to much to your brows and it looks slightly darker at one part if you brush through the product with this then it evens it all out. You can’t complain for the price of elf brushes either.

Zoeva 127 Luxe sheer cheek brush 12.80 in Euros with delivery I paid £15.70 – I love love love Zoeva brushes. Firstly, can we just admire how sleek they look – just amazing. I love a good looking brush. A bonus to how beautiful it is, its works a treat to. The angle of the brush allows to blend in brush lovely, Whereas the real techniques brush is quite big and fluffy it can sometimes make it hard to get just the right amount of blush and blend it properly. However, I much prefer using this for my blush and the other blush brush for my contouring. The hairs are so soft and collect a nice amount of product, allows heavy handed people to not look like a clown when applying really pigmented blush as you can just build up non pigmented blushes really well.

I hope you enjoyed and let me know if you have any of these brushes or any recommendations I could try out. I’m always open to buying a good new brush! Until next time…

Last week I was plagued with tonsillitis! So I was moping around feeling sorry for myself, there is nothing better than having a night of pampering when you’re just not feeling yourself!

I like to light a couple of candles and get relaxed, normally Yankee candles in pink hibiscus and garden sweet pea. I’ll run a boiling hot bath and crumble some fun by lush under the tap, and wait for it to bubble! I’ll then climb in and wash my hair as normal, take my make up off and apply a hair masque!

My current favourite hair masque at the moment is the Charles Worthington moisture seal. It moisturises the hair so well, and leaves normally dull hair look alive and smooth again! While my hair masque is setting in I’ll apply a face masque!

When I’m feeling sorry for myself I like to splurge on a nice face masque! So this one only comes out for special occasions – it’s the GlamGlow youthmud tinglexfoliate masque. Normally, I would use the Soap and Glory No clogs allowed self heating masque. However, the GlamGlow masque is so refreshing and leaves your face feeling so smooth! I get the much raved hype around this product!

After I’ve had a ponder through Instagram and twitter I get out and grab my Laura Mercier body butter, and moisturise my body with it as it feels like such a luxurious product! I will then normally paint my nails with and Essie polish or Barry M! Then continue with my normal night time skin care, and use a lib scrub – my favourite is the lush bubblegum lip scrub! Then I’ll get into bed in a pair of massive jogging pants and a baggy t-shirt.

My current make up bag is the medium sized dark and lime green bag from Ted Baker. I love this bag, it’s the perfect size for fitting all of my essential make up items in. I’m going back and forth from my friends house and home at the moment so the thought of having to take a load of make up with me makes me want to kill myself. So I’ve been keeping it all really simple, not changing it or wearing eye make up.

At the moment I carry 6 major tools with me that I use every day without fail. These are: The Real Techniques Buffing Brush, The Real Techniques Powder Brush, The Real Techniques Stippling Brush, The Elf Cosmetics Small Stipple Brush, The Zoeva 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush and my Beauty Blender.